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Professor Richard Smith

About

Professor Richard Smith researches the history of (English) language teaching and is known for his pioneering work helping to establish the interdisciplinary, plurilinguistic and intercultural field of HoLLT (History of Language Learning and Teaching). He is also known for his earlier research on language learner autonomy and his current international teacher development work, particularly with/for state school teachers in the Global South, including his original ideas on exploratory action research and teacher-research mentoring in contexts of teaching English and other subjects in particularly difficult circumstances.

Links to freely downloadable versions of most of his publications are further below.

Current activities

Current responsibilities at Warwick include leadership and teaching of modules on The History of English and The Spread of English (BA), Innovating in TESOL Methodology (MA), Sociolinguistics of English as a Global Language (MA) and Researching TESOL Histories (MA), as well as supervision of MA and PhD dissertations / theses. I am also Director of Research Culture for the School of Education, Learning and Communication Sciences, jointly with Dr. Jamie Burford.

My research projects/publications and those of my research students relate mainly to the following areas: History of language learning and teaching (HoLLT) and History of applied linguistics (HoAL); Textbook research; Teaching English in Large Classes and otherwise 'difficult' circumstances; learner autonomy; and practitioner research/teacher development.

In recent years I've been busy leading ESRC Impact Award projects on Teacher-research for difficult circumstances and Mentoring teacher-researchLink opens in a new window, relating to my work as academic lead for British Council teacher-research mentoring programmes in Latin America and South Asia as well as (currently) Thailand and Ukraine.

I continue to lead HoLLT.netLink opens in a new window, the AILA History of Language Learning and Teaching Research Network, together with Professor Giovanni Iamartino (University of Milan), and I also convene a HoLLT research circle which meets weekly in the ELT ArchiveLink opens in a new window space at Warwick.

I've been a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of ELT Journal Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window(Oxford University Press) since stepping down as the journal's Key Concepts in ELT editor.

In recent years, invitations to give keynote papers at conferences, workshops and/or lectures have taken me to Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Portugal, Qatar, Spain, Thailand and Turkey.

Past activities and achievements

I am a 'Trustee Emeritus' of the A.S. Hornby Educational Trust.Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, having worked actively as a Trustee for 21 years (2001–2022), including ten years as Deputy Chair. In recent years, I played a leading role in the Trust's Decentring ELT initiative.

For 20 years I was a member of, and, for 10 years, Chair of the Editorial Panel of the Warwick-based online journal English Language Teacher Education and Development (ELTED)Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window. I am now on its advisory board.

I have also been a member of the Executive Committee of the Henry Sweet Society for the History of Linguistic Ideas and the Executive Committee of the British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL).

Between 2013 and 2016, I was Principal Investigator in a research project funded by the British Council to develop a 'Survey of ELT Research in India'Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window. Previously, I was awarded several research grants by the British Council to survey UK ELT Research (2005 onwardsLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window).

From 2012 to 2014 I co-led (with Prof. Nicola McLelland, University of Nottingham) a Research Network Project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council - 'Towards a History of Modern Foreign Language Teaching and Learning'Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window. As an outcome of this project, in 2015, I founded and since then have been co-convenor of the AILA Research Network on the History of Language Learning and Teaching.

The British Council has funded historical research which I've led to develop 'An Archive and Record of UK-funded ELT projects, 1950 onwards'Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window and 'An Archive and Record of British Council Involvement in ELT, 1934-2009'Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window. These have contributed to enhancement of the ELT ArchiveLink opens in a new window, a unique collection of materials housed at Warwick relating to the history of applied linguistics and the teaching of English as a second/foreign language, c.1880-1980, which I founded in 2002.

IIn 2008, I jointly founded and then coordinated for a number of years an international research network, TELCnet, on Teaching English in Large Classes in developing countries. From 2011 to 2015 I was the coordinator of the IATEFL Research Special Interest GroupLink opens in a new window and am now on its advisory board.

I founded the JALT Learner Development SIG in Japan in 1994 and am a former co-convenor of the AILA [International Association of Applied Linguistics] Research Network on Learner Autonomy (2008–14).

Publications

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
  • (2014) Directory of UK ELT Research, 2011–12 (Co-author with S. Choi, I. Liggins and G. Sky). London: The British Council. Online (Open Access).
  • (2014) 'The history of Teaching English as a Foreign Language, from a British and European perspective’ (with A.P.R. Howatt). Language and History 57/1: 75-95. Online (Open Access)Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window
  • ‘An interview with John Trim (1924—2013) on the history of modern language learning and teaching’, by Richard Smith and Nicola McLelland (2014). Language and History57/1: 10-25. Online (Open Access)
  • ‘Building the history of language learning and teaching (HoLLT)’, (with N. McLelland). Introduction to special issue on ‘History of Modern Language Education in Europe’. Language and History 57/1: 1-9. Online (Open Access)

  • (2014) ‘Teacher-research as continuing professional development: A project with Chilean secondary school teachers' (with T. Connelly and P. Rebolledo). Chapter 5 in Hayes, D. (ed.) Innovations in the Continuing Professional Development of English Language Teachers. London: The British Council, pp. 111–128.
  • [2014]. ‘Transformations in ELT: Agents, contexts and opportunities’. In Shrestha, P.N., Dhakal, K.R., Ojha, L.P., Rana, L.B., and Rawal, H. (eds) NELTA Conference Proceedings 2013. Kathmandu, Nepal: Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association, pp. 12-22.Pre-publication version.
  • (2014) '"Teacher Association research": An innovative form of teacher-research' [with H. Kuchah Kuchah]. Voices (January-February).
2013
2012
2011
2010
  • (2010). [Co-editor]. Thematic Bibliography on Large Class Teaching / Teaching in Difficult Circumstances (2002 onwards) . [with M. Ajjan, M. Saleem and X. Huang.] Coventry: Centre for Applied Linguistics, University of Warwick. Online: bit.ly/telcbiblio1
  • (2010). Directory of UK ELT Research 2005-08. London: The British Council. [jointly compiled with S. Rixon.]
2009 2008
2007
  • (2007) 'The origins of ELT Journal'. OnlineLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window [on the Oxford University Press ELT Journal website].
  • (2007) 'The birth and early years of the IATEFL Learner Independence SIG'. Independence 40: 4-12.
  • (2007) 'Responding to resistance'. In A. Barfield and S. Brown (eds), Reconstructing Autonomy in Language Education: Inquiry and Innovation. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. [co-authored with P. Brown and E. Ushioda.]

Photo of Richard Smith

Dr. Richard Smith
Professor of ELT & Applied Linguistics
R.C.Smith@warwick.ac.uk

Room 1.87, Centre for Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Warwick, CV4 7AL

Tel. +44-(0)24-7652-4987

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HoLLT 3

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